Affect The Effect
by REMINGTON 700.Sniper
Summary: "While JENOVA, Sephiroth and Hojo were defeated one and for all, the damage done to the Planet remained and the fighting went on." To change the future Cloud is sent back in time where he is confronted with the hell he'd already been through once. TIME TRAVEL / no pairings intended so far (might change) / genre might change / main characters: CLOUD, ZACK, ANGEAL, GENESIS, SEPH


**Affect The Effect**

 **"Affect" (verb)**

to have an influence on something; to produce a change in something or someone;

 **"Effect" (noun)**

a result; _also_ the way one thing acts upon another;

 **Disclaimer:** Sad as it is, I do not own the characters, nor the world this story takes place in. As a result, almost all credits go the original creators of Final Fantasy VII.

* * *

 **Prolog**

Destruction started over a chiliad before the calamity went down when a child prodigy laid the foundation for what would be remembered as the Reunion in the minds of people. The idea of draining the Planet of its mako by using the lifestream to produce energy had influenced billions of people's lives and as others came and sought new ways of using mako, a new era started.

By then, people had forgotten Sin and his punishment and as there were no more monsters to be afraid of and no more gods to lean on, people started to fight each other, creating their own monsters and their own gods in the process.

Cloud had witnessed evil rising and heroes falling. He'd had it all, and after all the battles he had fought and all the fights he'd won, war had never ended for regardless his efforts his foes would refuse to stay dead.

First, it had been Sephiroth going mad and – after being killed – fighting his way back into life by utilizing JENOVA and later on geostigma. Then, Hojo had taken over Weiss body, intending to absorb Omega and to destroy the Planet with the Weapon's power. While JENOVA, Sephiroth and Hojo were defeated one and for all, the damage done to the Planet remained and the fighting went on. Many loved ones, whatever civilians or not, died and with each life gone, the world became a bit colder and more cruel.

Though not everything had been bad; Cloud had made friends he would have gladly given his life for without thinking twice. He'd met people he'd trusted with his life, and as time became the hero's worst enemy, his heart grew colder with every friend taken from him.

At last, after a life full of fighting and losses, Cloud had to admit that watching powerless while time stripped away everyone he ever knew was worse than losing friends while fighting for a greater good. At least, the latter gave those deaths a meaning and some kind of sense.

While Cloud was cursed with an unnatural long life, the others around him wasted away. The first ones to die of old age were Reeve, Tifa, Denzel and Marlene. By then Cid, Barrett, Reno and Rude, Tseng, Rufus and Yuffie had been already killed during fighting the aftermath of Shinras wrongdoings.

Weiss and Nero – while Cloud never considered the first one even remotely a friend – died soon after. Even Genesis, who had became a prized ally and somewhat friend to Cloud proved not to be immortal, despite his enhancements.

Nanaki, blessed with a considerable longer lifespan than mere humans was the next one to follow into the lifestream. Around the same time Shelke fell victim to one of the gigantic monsters that now traveled Gaia's surface as history was to repeat itself;

Eventually, the only ones left were Cloud and Vincent, keeping each other company as the world around them crumbled. By then it had become clear that neither of them was to die of old age and in their sorrow they kept holding on to each other for they had nothing else left.

Cloud often wondered why he remained untouched by time, while even Genesis had not been immune, but figured it ultimately was the Planet's doing. His fusion sword always at ready, the hero watched the world falling to its knees in front of greater forces and with every passing day the wish to go back and change all the events leading to this present grew stronger.

In the end, it was a strange illness that was about to end Clouds life. The blond didn't even discern the very first symptoms as such, as they were as nondescript as they could be. He was travelling northeastern of what used to be Fort Condor once – although now little of the old town was left and even fewer people remembered it – with Vincent accompanying him when it started off with Cloud awakening in the middle of the night, the blond locks of his hair plastered to his forehead and covered in sweat.

Cloud had always had a light sleep, ever since he started travelling Gaia and therefore had to sleep open-air. But this particular night Cloud was unable to detect whatever could have caused him to wake with a start.

Cloud normally no longer dreamt of the old days, for his memories started to fade although he tried to hold on to them with all his might. So it had been a great deal of time since he'd last woken from a nightmare so intensive he was all sweaty and felt like throwing up.

Above his head, the dark night sky reached for the horizon with only the slightest hint of the sun already peaking over the edging of the world. Bright stars looked down on Gaia with knowing eyes. The moon dominated the sky and seemed so close that one cloud reach him by putting out a hand.

Cloud looked around, searching for Vincent, who's turn it was to keep guard. He spotted the red-eyed gunman in some distance, as he sat looking at the sky as well, facing Cloud with his back. Carefully, Cloud rose to his feet, sidestepped the remnants of their makeshift camp and approached Vincent's back with confident steps.

The gunman didn't even so much as look at him as Cloud sat down beside him. The ground was somewhat clammy upon touch, but Cloud needn't feared getting sick. Silently, both warriors looked at the night sky for the longest time.

After all those years, no words were needed to communicate and both men preferred peaceful silence over elaborating their feelings. Neither of them had ever been good at expressing what was going on in their heads to start with, and it hadn't gotten any better over the decades.

From that night on, Cloud would wake every time he fell asleep, sweaty and rattled and on the verge of throwing up. He was unable to pin down what caused his distress, but with every night passing, it intensified. The blond shook it off as bad memories intermingling with his dreams, but what soon became bothersome was just the start.

It only occurred to him that something wasn't the way it was supposed to be when he first found himself lying on the ground face flat, gunshots ringing in his ears. Although Vincent wasn't frantically shouting his name, that circumstance was probably given by the gunman's silent nature. As the two friends went through the happenings later, it turned out Cloud had simply passed out in the middle of a fight and both of them being still alive was owned to the fact that Vincent was a skilled fighter.

From there on, things got only stranger. It turned out this occurrence wouldn't be the last time Cloud passed out. It happened as unpredictable as it could, without any warning or visible pattern. As time passed on, those "episodes" became more frequent and Cloud no longer just fell into black unconsciousness, he actually started _seeing_ things. Glimpses of a long forgotten past, of a life he'd lived over a century ago.

In those moments, when his body gave out, he'd travel _the Planet_ , the Planet he knew from his childhood. He would fly mere meters above the ground, watching in bliss as the world extended beneath him. Those moments was so full of life, of hope and of good memories and Cloud soon found himself yawing for every second he could spend there.

Thenceforward, it didn't take neither Cloud nor Vincent long to notice the change of Cloud's body. And said change was what actually frightened and eased Cloud at the same time: He became translucent. At first, Cloud shook it off as a trick of his sleep-deprived mind or as some kind of optical illusion, but he had to accept it to be real at last.

It started with his fingers, the already fair skin turning even _wither_ in some places, before simply turning transparent. Soon after, those transparent spots grew and spread.

It was hard to notice at first for the gunman was just as much a clam as Cloud if not even worse, but something changed in Vincent's behavior. He'd always look unusual tense, his shoulders never relaxing and the constant frown on his face left a crease between his brows.

Cloud understood without Vincent ever voicing his concern. And the blond appreciated it as much as he felt guilty and devastated. While his episodes of unconsciousness unclosed him a way to escape reality, Vincent was stuck, more than once defending Clouds unconscious body against any monstrous beast. And of course, there was also the unspoken possibility that Cloud was about to _disintegrate_. It had become clear that Cloud couldn't die of old age, but did it really mean he was _everlasting_?

With every passing day, Vincent's anxiety grew, while Cloud would stay unconscious for longer than the day before, and ultimately it became clear to both warriors that they were to part ways against their will. One would disintegrate while the other would slumber.

During the time spent in reality, Cloud felt nothing but guilt eat him up from the very inside. Not just could he no longer help with standing guard at night – leaving Vincent with as much as no time at all to sleep – he also immobilized the duo and soon he wouldn't help with anything anymore and although he was some kind of relieved he could finally depart this destroyed, _fucked up_ world, he was more than reluctant to leave Vincent behind all alone, though eventually his will didn't change anything.

In the end, he didn't even notice his own vanishing. Instead, it was Vincent who faced the empty spot Cloud had laid on only mere seconds ago. The outcry that followed echoed through Gaia, filled with sorrow and despair...

* * *

 **Chapter 00**

Zack watched Angeal with a mixture of curiosity and eagerness, as the First Class SOLDIER repeatedly demonstrated a certain move, swinging his standard SOLDIER sword in the process.

"Keep your stance. And pay attention!", the battle seasoned SOLDIER instructed, while taking in Zack pumped behavior. The younger barely ever stilled and more than once it seemed the Second Class had the attention span of a goldfish, although the impression was clearly misleading. Otherwise, the raven haired youngster would have never made it into SOLDIER.

Zack nodded, having heard his mentor's rant about him not paying enough attention about a hundred times within the last three days alone. So instead of answering verbally, Zack imitated the shown move, using his own sword in the process.

Angeal looked pleased enough, as he nodded in an approving manner, and put his sword away.

"So when are we going to face the real deal? C'mon, Angeeaaal, I wonna fight something", Zack whined, taking his mentor as a paragon and putting his sword away.

Angeal huffed, shaking his head ever so slightly. The older looked around, scanning the area. The past two days he'd spent travelling east with his protégé, leaving Midgar behind in the process.

"You'll get to prove yourself soon enough, Zack. But no matter your strength and regardless your achievements, always remember your honor. To do so, you have to embrace your dreams. A hero needs dreams and honor, do not forget", Angeal preached, for the hundredth time within the last three days as well.

"Dream, honor, check", Zack responded, his attention already drawn from his mentor, as a low-level monster emerged from the safety of the woods.

"Zack!", Angeal snapped as graceful as one could snap and pulled his protégé's attention back to his preach.

"Listening!", Zack confirmed, adjusting his posture with a jerk so he was now saluting almost military style. A playful smile graced Zack's features.

Angeal huffed again, somewhat reconsidering his decision to take Zack on a practical training in his free time.

"Well than, let's head back to the camp. Whatever monster crosses your path is to be eliminated in an instant."

"Oh yeah!" With those cheerful words Zack stormed into the direction he knew the camp was situated in.

"Get serious!" Angeal's shout was lost to the younger man's ears.

Zack made his way through the woods, chasing after the low-level monster that had distracted him from Angeal's rant about honor and dreams and attention. It turned out to be a Mandragora and not just one, but actually a whole bunch of them. The little plant-like monsters where everything but threatening to the Second Class SOLDIER and it took Zack only minutes to eliminate them, regardless their number. The raven haired warrior hoped for further encounters with anything he could train on, but was not as lucky. In hopes of getting to battle something more challenging Zack even took a detour, though the outcome remained the same. Kind of cranky he returned to the camp and was not even the slightest bit surprised to find Angeal already seated in front of a small bonfire.

The First Class had taken off both of his swords, the standard SOLDIER sword as well as his buster sword. Both weapons leaned against a trunk within Angeal's reach. Zack sat down beside his mentor and started cleaning his own sword, before he put it next to the buster sword. Of course, he couldn't do all of this in silence, so he started chatting Angeal up, telling him every small detail of his encounter with the Mandragora. Angeal listened carefully and interjected small questions at times whenever he got the feeling Zack elaborated only the unimportant facts. It already dawned and once Zack had ended, night had already fallen for Zack had had a hard time staying on topic.

The two SOLDIERs had dinner in the dark, the whole scenario only enlightened by the bonfire's red shine and afterwards each of them crawled into their own bedroll. With only the sky above his head Angeal listened Zack's random gibble gabble while admiring the view. Only when silence fell did he knew that Zack had _finally_ fallen asleep. Just where did the puppy take all this energy?

* * *

Sadness strangled him and it was hard to breath as he watched the world pass by beneath him. The remembered this world, he remembered _everything_. And with every memory, sorrow made it harder to live on. Cloud screamed on the top of his lungs until he feared they'd explode from all the pressure that built up inside him. He could see it all now, in a clarity he'd never called his before. He saw the pain and he saw every little detail, the impact of every action was rolled out before him, very visible and very logical. He remembered everyone, everyone lost and everyone forgotten.

Cloud actually felt like snapping, like seeing all those faces again – remembering all those deaths in such clarity – broke down the wall of stone and ice he'd built around his heart during the past century. And he, the _hero_ Gaia refused to let go, could do nothing but cry like a baby to ease the pain, the poisonous pain that threatened to break him. If he'd had any reasoning left, he'd admired the blessing of being able to forget for the first time in his life.

* * *

Angeal bolted into a sitting position, his eyes scanning the areal systematically. Beside him, Zack was staring into the night as well, his eyes wide open and horror clearly visible on his features. The younger turned his head to shoot Angeal an uncertain glance, as if asking for guidance. The scream that had startled them was still echoing through the night.

Angeal slipped out of his bedroll and reached for both of his swords which stood close by. In his peripheral vision Angeal witnessed Zack doing the same. Indicating with a small gesticulation that Zack should stay close by, Angeal made his way through the woods, following the still prolonged scream. Whoever was screaming obviously was in a great deal of pain. Maybe a random civilian had run into a beast.

The noise grew louder as the two SOLDIERs neared its originator. Angeal could tell they were close, though he hadn't laid eyes upon the person yet. Angeal sensed the movement from behind him and whipped around in an instant, shoving Zack out of harm's way in the process. The Second Class tripped over his own feet when Angeal's hand hit him full force against his sternum, but his falter also kept him from colliding with the creature stumbling out of the tree's shadow. Whoever it was moved with such speed that the movement blurred even for Angeal's greatly enhanced sight.

The First Class was about to use the broad side of his sword to knock the attacker out, when suddenly the body in front of him gave out on its own. Instead now, Angeal reached out to catch the unconscious person the very instant the scream died away.

Surprise graced Angeal's features as he found the attacker to be a blond man about his age or most likely slightly younger. The man was unarmed and even now, that his body had given out, his eyes moved restless under their eyelids.

Angeal wrenched his neck to get a look of Zack. "You alright?"

The younger man looked puzzled and slightly embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah. Took me kind of by surprise, though", he replied, flashing Angeal a somewhat excusive smile. Angeal simply nodded, although his expression remained grim. He looked down on the man in his arms again, analyzing the other's delicate facial features. At first glance, the stranger didn't appear to be a warrior or any kind of threat. But Angeal's eyes traveled to the man's properly defined muscles and his cloth soon after, and by then the First Class was willing to reconsider his first assumption.

Beside him, Zack leaned closer to get a better look on the stranger.

"Huh", the raven-haired Second Class made, not really predicating anything with the simple noise. He was probably just as much as at a loss for words as Angeal.

The blond laid motionless, although a slight frown creased his forehead. Soft blond locks adorned the stranger's head and looked like spikes due to their untamed nature.

The man was clad in a black sleeveless shirt zip up shirt, the fabrics coarse texture giving it a somewhat woolen look. His left shoulder was armored and the front of the pauldron boasted a silver wolf's head. The stud on the strangers left ear displayed exactly the same wolf symbol.

The blond's hands were gloved and his legs stuck in loose black trousers while his feet were clad with heavy black boots. He also wore something that reminded Angeal remotely of a black skirt, although it obviously wasn't, for it only covered the stranger's left leg.

The whole clothing of the blond resembled a First Class SOLDIER's uniform.

Carefully, Angeal tested the weight of the stranger by pressing him and found him to be not too heavy to lift. In his peripheral vision he saw Zack shooting him a somewhat questioning look. The younger was probably at a loss as what to make out of the situation. It was the middle of the night after all and the duo had just found a screaming stranger in the middle of basically nowhere. Angeal threw the blond over his shoulder as gently as possible as to not hurt the unconscious man.

Without a word, Angeal started to go back to the camp. Just as the First had expected, it only took Zack mere seconds to catch up with his mentor and to pelt him with questions.

"Are we taking him with us? Are we not gonna look for whatever attacked him? Don't you think we should clear the area?"

"Yes, Zack, and no", Angeal answered curtly, a grim frown present on his face.

The Second Class now kept pace with him, gesticulating with his hands while talking and covering his eagerness poorly. "But whatever attacked him is probably still out there. It could be dangerous, you know?"

Angeal came to halt to shoot Zack an exhorting glance. "I'm not sure he was attacked to start with, Zack, so let's just head back and see what he has to say once he wakes up."

"But he screamed!", Zack justified his assumption while Angeal started walking again. Zack imitated his mentor, once again keeping pace with the older man.

"I don't see blood nor a weapon or anything indicating a fight", Angeal answered simply, his gaits speeding up, as he picked up the pace.

"Yeah, well..." Those interjection kept Zack's mind occupied, as he didn't come up with anything further to say, but instead pondered on his own thoughts.

The SOLDIER's camp come into view and Angeal slowed down slightly, walking straight to his own bedroll to lower the unconscious blond on it. While doing so, he checked the stranger once again for any visible injuries, but aside from heavy scarring on the blond's forearms, he didn't detect anything worrying.

Angeal turned to Zack, who stood right in the middle auf the makeshift camp, looking down on the stranger indecisively, while rubbing the back of his head.

"Go get some sleep, I'll keep an eye on him", Angeal instructed and although Zack didn't look all too happy about not getting any answers right now, he obeyed.

The Second put his sword down and slipped into his own bedroll, staring into the night sky, as he laid motionless. It only took him minutes to drill Angeal with questions once again, but Angeal would have been worried if it had been any other way.

"What are we gonna do with him, once he wakes up?"

"Hm", Angeal made noncommittal.

Zack obviously was unfazed by his mentor's lack of respond. "I don't think he was attacking us, you know?"

"Sleep, Zack", Angeal ordered, while looking the stranger in front of him over. An uneasy feeling settled in the pitch of the First's stomach. The blond definitely was trouble.

* * *

Some part of Cloud was reluctant to wake up, as if it knew what was waiting for the hero once he'd regain consciousness. Sometimes he was so close to reality, before drifting away again. In his unconsciousness, he'd travel the world _knowing_ it was only a dream. He'd watch the monstrous beast that now lived on Gaia's desiccating surface, wondering where the _old world_ had gone and how long he actually already lived. He'd lost count over the many years.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Okay. Here we go guys, I've done it. I've actually started the time travel fan fiction I've never dared to write for my English sucks as well as my writing... Final Fantasy VII Time Travel stuff is very dear to my heart and I was reluctant to taint this genre with the crappy stuff I'm able to come up with. But with the remake coming up about this year or next year or something and the trailers released I just couldn't withstand the temptation anymore. 'Cause if I had it my way, there would be no Final Fantasy VII Remake per se, but rather a whole new storyline where Cloud is sent back in time to change the future... this would also solve the problem that Square Enix simply will be unable to satisfy the fans, no matter what they do and how hard they try... we'll always find something to be unhappy about once the remake is released...

Anyway, I'd appreciate ANY criticism that helps me improve ("You suck" does not do so, though ^^') or someone even proofreading in the future (pretty please?).

Last but not least, I hope you enjoyed it at least a _little_ bit...


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